EDWARDSVILLE — Southern Illinois University Edwardsvile track and field coach Kareem Jackson has released the schedule for the Cougars' 2012-13 indoor and outdoor seasons. The schedule features two home meets hosted at Ralph Korte Stadium during the outdoor campaign.
"We are excited about hosting two home meets this year," Jackson said. "Hosting quality meets helps our program in many ways. Our community and student body do a great job supporting our program, and it's nice to be able to compete at home to allow them to see us in action."
SIUE will host the Cougar Classic March 23, as well as the Gateway Classic April 20. The Cougar Classic will be a triangular meet featuring Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State, while the Gateway Classic will be a quadrangular meet with Western Illinois, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Chicago State.
"Over the past 3 years, my goal in scheduling was to provide our athletes with the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams and athletes in the country," Jackson said. "This is an exciting season for us as we begin the road to the OVC Championships for the first time in program history."
The 2013 indoor season kicks off in December with an early bird meet at Carbondale which will be geared to the Cougars' non distance groups. The Cougars will begin their official indoor campaign in January as they travel to Missouri and Illinois in consecutive days in January. The Cougars travel to Illinois State for a triangular meet that will include Kent State University on January 26.
In February, the Cougars will travel to Southeast Missouri State for a dual meet and will end the regular season in Grand Valley State at The Big Meet. This will be the second time the Cougars travel to Grand Valley State to compete in the newly-built Kelly Family Sports Center.
The Cougars will travel to Eastern Illinois for the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships February 22-23.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark.
After the Cougars open the season at the Cougar Classic on March 23, they will have three meets before traveling to Missouri to compete in the competitive Tom Botts Invitational April 13.
"We are looking forward to traveling to Missouri this spring for the Tom Botts Invitational," Jackson said. "We will have an opportunity to compete and measure our talents against some of the top teams in the country."
SIUE wraps up the outdoor regular season at the Gateway Classic before traveling to Eastern Illinois once more for the OVC Outdoor Championships May 3-4.
The NCAA Championships will be held June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore.
"We hope to have several athletes competing at nationals in June," Jackson added.
